A2 · Getting started
Longer stories about daily life, past and future.
- Крокодилы в солёной воде There are hundreds of crocodiles in the salty lake, and the lake once grew and covered farms and roads. Audio
- Озеро ниже моря Polly finds a big salty lake in a dry valley, with old coral in the rocks around it. Audio
- Холм, полный ям Men dig the blue stone out of the hill by hand, because machines would break it. Audio
- Вода, которая стала твёрдой Inside the grey rock there is blue stone, and it comes from only one place in the world. Audio
- Камень спустился по реке Polly learns that the blue stone came down from the mountains, and that it has a name. Audio
- Синий камень на пляже Polly flies along a coast between mountains and the sea, and finds a strange blue stone. Audio
- Пляж, на котором ничего нет Polly finds a long empty beach in a national park, and then she flies home. Audio
- Рыцарь и олень Polly hears the old story of a rider and a deer at the cliff edge. Audio
- Семь юбок и серебряные рыбки Polly goes down to town and sees gull ladies in seven skirts drying fish in the sun. Audio
- Колесо ждёт весны Polly ends her week at a quiet Coney Island, past a giant steel wheel from nineteen twenty and an old hot... Audio
- Животное, которое делает кубики Wombats make cube shaped poop, and now we know why. Audio
- Эта птица спит на лету Frigatebirds fly for many days and sleep only a little. Audio
- Обед, который ест вся страна In the Dominican Republic, everyone eats the same lunch at the same time. Audio
- Ужин, приготовленный вулканом In the Azores, people cook food inside a hot volcano. Audio
- Последний поезд Tomas misses the last train in Tokyo and sleeps in a tiny room. Audio
- Пустая чашка On his first day, Pedro drinks from a cup that is not his. Audio
- Номер сорок семь Carla waits a long time at the clinic for a small cut. Audio
- Заблудилась в Лиссабоне Sofía gets lost in Lisbon and a woman helps her with a map. Audio
- Номер с балконом Marcos gets a hotel room with a nice balcony. Audio
- Столик на одного Mia eats alone in a small restaurant, and the waiter helps her choose. Audio
- Специя, которая когда-то стоила как золото Saffron comes from tiny flower threads picked by hand, and for most of history a pound of it cost about the... Audio
- Озеро, которое исчезает каждое лето In Slovenia, a huge lake fills a valley in winter and then vanishes underground every summer, leaving... Audio
- Парк рядом с моим домом A squirrel describes the small park next to its tree: the pigeons by the benches, Mr. Badger and his bread,... Audio
- Обед, который никогда не заканчивается In Spain, the best part of lunch starts when the food is finished. It even has its own name. Audio
- Никогда не заказывай латте в Италии In Italy, the word latte does not mean coffee. One small word can bring you a big surprise. Audio
- Откуда берется кофе Coffee begins as a red fruit on a green plant and travels far before it fills a cup. Audio
- Сон в ночном поезде Night trains in Europe carry travelers between cities while they sleep in cozy beds. Audio
- Как пчелы делают мед Honeybees turn sweet flower nectar into golden honey through hard teamwork in the hive. Audio
- Длинная дорога шелка The Silk Road was a famous trade route that linked China with Europe for many centuries. Audio
- Амазонка, самая большая река The Amazon is the river that carries the most water in the world. Audio
- Осьминог и его три сердца The octopus is a clever sea animal with three hearts and blue blood. Audio
- Кабели под морем Long cables under the ocean carry almost all of the information that travels between countries. Audio
- Долгая гонка под названием марафон The marathon is a very long running race with a curious and surprising history. Audio
- Первый свет в деревне While the whole village sleeps, one window glows: the baker lights the oven so fresh bread will be ready by... Audio
- Маленькая птица в часах In Germany's Black Forest, carved wooden cuckoo clocks call out every hour while children wait and laugh. Audio
- Город, где было запрещено умирать When a small Italian town ran out of space in its cemetery, the mayor signed an order telling people not to... Audio
- Кот, который ездит на автобусе Every morning a cat climbs onto the same city bus, watches the streets go by, and gets off at his own stop. Audio
- Рыба, которая взбирается на водопады In Hawaii, a fish smaller than your finger climbs up waterfalls taller than buildings, using its mouth as a... Audio
- Пар и маленькие тарелки A first night at a Taipei night market, where pointing, smiling, and one brave question buy a very good... Audio
- Город, который кладёт золото на мороженое Kanazawa in Japan makes almost all of the country's gold leaf, and wraps whole sheets of it around soft ice... Audio
- Полёт длиной в девяносто секунд A tiny plane hops between two Orkney islands in Scotland on the shortest scheduled flight in the world. Audio
- То, что не забрал огонь Polly looks at Kanazawa one last time, waits out the rain, and flies away over the sea. Audio
- Фонари на рабочей улице Polly walks a lantern-lit street of old wooden teahouses that still works today, and finds ice cream... Audio
- Кухня на рассвете Before sunrise, Polly visits Omicho market, three hundred years old, where crabs are sold in winter. Audio
- Куют, пока оно почти не исчезнет Polly visits a gold leaf workshop, where a piece of gold the size of a coin becomes a sheet as big as a table. Audio
- Шесть качеств настоящего сада In Kenrokuen garden, Polly sees koi in a big pond and ropes that keep snow off the pine trees. Audio
- Белые крыши и длинные стены At Kanazawa Castle, Polly finds long stone walls and roofs made of lead that look white. Audio
- Город, который уцелел Polly arrives in Kanazawa, an old city between the sea and the mountains that was never bombed in the war. Audio
- Розового цвета не существует Pink has no wavelength of its own; it is a color the brain invents when the eyes see red and blue light... Audio
- Ты светишься прямо сейчас The human body constantly emits an extremely faint light, invisible to the eye but detectable with a... Audio
- Громко хлюпать - это вежливо In Japan, slurping your noodles loudly is not rude, it is a sign that you are enjoying the meal. Audio
- Водопад, который падает вверх On very windy days, strong gusts can blow a Norwegian waterfall's spray back up into the sky. Audio
- Круг и утренний пароход On her last evening, Polly finds an old stone circle and sits quietly at its edge as the sun goes down. Audio
- Зерно девяноста дней Polly visits an old mill and learns how a fast-growing old grain became Orkney's bread and its whisky. Audio
- Сбор на шхерах Polly visits a chapel built by prisoners of war from two metal huts and hears how it was made from almost... Audio
- Построено из того, что было Polly finds a huge group of grey seals gathering on Orkney's rocks just before baby seals are born. Audio
- Деревня под штормом Polly watches a straw-backed Orkney chair get made, a design that comes from having no trees. Audio
- Кресло у огня A storm uncovers a stone village older than Stonehenge and the pyramids. Audio
- Утренний пароход приходит Polly flies over windy islands with no trees and learns their fields hide thousands of old, buried sites. Audio
- Туман закрывается за ней On her last afternoon, Polly flies high over the island before fog rolls in and hides it behind her. Audio
- Деревня, подключённая к вулкану Polly learns that the same volcano heat that cooked lunch also warms a big public pool and heats homes in... Audio
- Ужин, закопанный на рассвете Polly watches a cook bury pots of food in the ground, where the volcano's heat cooks dinner with no fire. Audio
- Один кратер, два цвета Polly finds a huge old crater with two lakes, one blue and one green, joined together under a strip of land. Audio
- Птица, которую дважды считали потерянной Polly looks for the priolo, a tiny grey and pink bird that lives only in one forest and was once thought to... Audio
- Последние два сада Европы Polly finds one of the only two tea farms left in Europe, started after the island's orange trees died. Audio
- Девять островов, три плиты Polly arrives over São Miguel, the biggest of the nine Azores islands, made of black rock, green fields,... Audio
- В Корнуолле разгуливает сбежавший валлаби A small Australian kangaroo has been hopping around an English market town for days, and nobody knows where... Audio
- Крикни, или пропустишь остановку A shared minibus with no bell and no screen, where the only way off is to say so out loud, early and twice. Audio
- Скала над ней Polly finds the cliff hanging over her head and watches birds dive. Audio
- Старая история Polly starts down the steps and hears a story about them. Audio
- Кривой домик A stone marten shows Polly a famous crooked house. Audio
- Розовый город Polly finds a small pink town inside a river loop. Audio
- Город на скале Polly finds a town on a high cliff, and steps cut into the rock. Audio
- Полли едет на автобусе Polly's first bus ride: does this bus go downtown, one ticket, how much, where do I get off, next stop,... Audio
- Полли спрашивает дорогу Polly is lost on the way to the library and asks an owl for directions: excuse me, where is it, is it far,... Audio
- Полли заказывает кофе Polly's first cafe order: good afternoon, a coffee with milk, do you have churros, the check please, how... Audio
- Полли на рынке Berta takes Polly to the market. Polly buys fruit for the first time: what is this, two apples, how much, a... Audio
- Полли знакомится с соседкой Polly moves to a new street and meets Berta the bear. First greetings: hello, your name, nice to meet you,... Audio
- Восхождение в Самое Сухое Место Polly arrives at a big observatory in the Atacama, the driest desert in the world. Audio
- Владивосток Polly arrives in Vladivostok and flies off over the Pacific Ocean. Audio
- Амур Polly reaches the Amur River and meets a rare crane on the sixth day of the Trans-Siberian. Audio
- Озеро Байкал Polly spends a day on the train along Lake Baikal, the deepest and oldest lake on Earth. Audio
- Часовые пояса Polly explores the dining car and learns that the train uses one time zone across all of Russia. Audio
- Пересечение Урала Polly crosses the Ural Mountains, the line between Europe and Asia, on the Trans-Siberian train. Audio
- Берёзовые леса Polly watches Russian birch forests from the Trans-Siberian train and learns that forty percent of Russia... Audio
- Ярославский вокзал Polly boards the Trans-Siberian train at Moscow and begins her seven-day journey to Vladivostok. Audio
- Прощай, Паста Polly says goodbye to Pasta the octopus and flies out of Naples. Audio
- Редактор самого себя Polly learns that octopuses can change their own nervous systems by editing RNA in real time. Audio
- Пицца и длинный обед Polly has lunch with Chiara at a Neapolitan pizzeria and learns about traditional Neapolitan pizza. Audio
- Кожа, которая видит Polly learns that octopus skin can sense colours even though octopus eyes cannot. Audio
- Тело, которое думает Polly watches an octopus solve a maze with two arms working independently. Audio
- Банка Polly watches an octopus open a jar to catch a crab and learns how short an octopus's life is. Audio
- Неаполитанский залив Polly arrives in Naples and meets a giant Pacific octopus at the world's oldest marine biology institute. Audio
- Покидая долину Polly says goodbye to Ranger Tomas and flies west out of Yosemite. Audio
- Млечный Путь над Глейшер-Пойнт Polly watches the Milky Way at Glacier Point and looks through a telescope at the centre of our galaxy. Audio
- Полудом Polly flies up Half Dome on warm air with a flock of swifts, sees the summit, then glides back down. Audio
- Соколиный полет Polly tries to copy a peregrine falcon's dive, learning what makes the falcon the fastest animal in the world. Audio
- Секвойя Polly visits a giant sequoia nearly 3,000 years old and learns about its fireproof bark. Audio
- Поездка с рейнджером Томасом Polly spends the morning in Ranger Tomas's truck, learning about bear feeding and peregrine falcon nests. Audio
- Над долиной Polly flies into Yosemite Valley, watches climbers on El Capitan, and rides the shuttle bus at dusk. Audio
- Запах корицы A new neighbor leaves a small surprise outside her door. Audio
- Два килограмма терпения A first trip to the local market with a vendor who refuses to let her leave with the wrong tomatoes. Audio